Lost World-Chapter 50: Aftermath

After the ceremony, as they prepared to leave, Cole pulled the team aside.

"I’m sorry I couldn’t hold on until later. We need to talk," he said. "About the future. About the team."

They gathered in a quiet corner of the village inn where they had been staying during their time in the village.

The atmosphere remained silent and somber as they all took a spot within the room. Cole looked at each of them in turn, then inhaled slowly, before letting it out.

"I’m not sure I can keep leading," he admitted... "I made the call to take that dungeon. I approved Silas using the shortcut. I wasn’t thorough as I should have been... I got one of my people killed."

"It wasn’t your fault," Donovan said, but Cole shook his head.

"I’m the leader. Everything is my fault." Cole’s hands were shaking slightly, eve though he managed to keep himself as calm as possible. "But more importantly—we’re down a member, and honestly, after seeing Yamamoto fight that boss..." He looked at Yamamoto directly. "We need to acknowledge reality. You’re better than all of us combined. You could probably clear dungeons solo that we struggle with as a team."

"That’s not—"

"It is," Cole interrupted. "We all saw it. The way you moved, the way you called shots, the way you knew exactly what to do. You’ve been holding back this entire time, haven’t you?"

Yamamoto didn’t answer, which was answer enough.

"I’m not angry," Cole said. "I’m just... processing. Our team is broken. Silas is gone, and we have a member who’s so far beyond our level that we’re more liability than help. We need to figure out what comes next."

"I don’t want to leave the team," Yamamoto said carefully. "But I understand if my presence is—"

"No," Ninia said firmly. "You saved us. We wouldn’t be alive without you. You’re part of this team, and we need you."

"Agreed," Donovan added quietly. "Solara brought you to us for a reason. I believe that."

They continued the discussion, but in the end, Yamamoto refused leadership role over the team and Cole had to continue as the team leader.

The weeks following Silas’s funeral were quiet and rather cold for the team. As for Yamamoto, he continued his training without fail, but the rest had to take a break for the mean time.

Sometime had gone by now, and this particular day, Yamamoto was at the dojo training when Greaves came up to him after instructing another student.

"Excellent," Greaves said, and there was genuine approval in his voice. "Stop for a moment."

Yamamoto lowered his blade, breathing hard but controlled.

Greaves assessed him for a moment more, then spoke. "When you first arrived, I said you had good instincts but lacked foundation, severely so. I expected it would take months, perhaps a year, to build you up properly..."

Yamamoto was kind of aware of what was going on, but still surprised to see Greaves showing so much interest in anything. "Sir?"

"It’s been two weeks, Yamamoto... Two weeks, and you’ve reached Adept rank in both one-handed and two-handed swordsmanship." Greaves shook his head slowly. "I’ve been teaching for thirty years. I’ve trained hundreds of students, some with genuine talent, some with unreasonable talent that even I their teacher can’t compare to... but I’ve never seen anyone progress this fast."

Around them, other students had stopped their own practice to listen. Caius stood nearby, his expression neutral but his attention focused.

"I take back what I said before," Greaves continued. "About you being just another self-taught amateur with just some potential. You’re not. You’re the greatest natural talent I’ve witnessed with my own eyes."

Yamamoto felt uncomfortable under the praise.

Even though it looked like he had such great and unexplainable talent, which it certainly was unexplainable, it wasn’t his, it was the system, accelerating his learning through whatever exploitation of game mechanics was happening on the back end, because it wasn’t like that in the game.

Nevertheless, Yamamoto forced a warm smile. "Thank you, sir," he said carefully. "But I’m only as good as the instruction I receive."

"Modest too," Greaves said with a slight smile. "Don’t let it go to your head, but do recognize what you have. Real talent is rare. What you do with it—that’s what matters."

’Damn it, he’s making this worse.’ He said internally, with a single tear rolling down his face and a hard smile on his face.

He gestured for Yamamoto to follow him to a quieter section of the training hall. The other students returned to their practice, though Yamamoto noticed several glancing his way with expressions ranging from awe to envy.

"I’ve decided to teach you a proper skill," Greaves said.

"A skill?" Yamamoto’s interest sharpened. "You can teach skills directly?" He said under his breath, though Greaves still heard him.

"Of course. How do you think skilled warriors develop their abilities?"

"Sorry, I was just excited." He responded with a mild smile.

Greaves picked up a practice sword as he explained. "The skill I’m going to teach you is called Dash Strike. It’s a fundamental technique for Weapon Specialists that combines explosive movement with a precision attack. It’s useful for closing distance, punishing opponents who overextend, or creating openings in defensive formations."

Taking position while Yamamoto watched, he demonstrated the skill.

One moment Greaves was standing still, then the very next, he’d crossed around ten feet in a blur of motion, his practice blade stopping inches from a training dummy’s chest. The movement was so fast that Yamamoto who was paying close attention almost missed it.

"The key is timing and weight transfer," Greaves explained, returning to his starting position. "You channel your strength into a single explosive step while maintaining perfect blade control. When done correctly, it’s faster than sprinting, and gives you more control. Done incorrectly, you overextend and leave yourself vulnerable."

"That’s amazing." Yamamoto said.

Of course, he already knew this skill and how to best utilize it even, but he still paid attention to Greaves teaching so that he could learn it.

Greaves demonstrated again, breaking everything down and taking it slower this time. Yamamoto made sure to listen well and learn, while he allowed the system to do the rest.

After showing it all and having Yamamoto go through the motion a few times, he stepped back. "Try it now," Greaves said. "Start slow. Focus on the footwork first, then add the blade work."